Vow to turn council care home around

A health care chief at Calderdale Council has vowed to improve a council-run care home after it was rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission.

Ferney Lee Services for Older People in Todmorden was inspected in January and found to inadequate in three areas

The CQC report stated that although people said they felt safe in the home, inspectors found risks to people were not always well managed.

Safeguarding incidents were not always recognised by staff, or reported to the local safeguarding team, which placed people at risk of harm.

Bev Maybury, Calderdale Council’s Director of Adults, Health and Social Care, has vowed to improve in the areas identified.

“We don’t dispute any of the findings. We are all devastated that this has happened.

“We identified the immediate concerns and started our action plan.

“The very first thing we did was reassess all the people who lived there and check out if they were safe and in the right place for their care.

“All the staff have been trained again in terms of safeguarding process.

“We wrote to each resident’s family members telling them about the report.

“Some were surprised but they all said they were happy with the care and have seen an improvement. We have a very strong action plan and are confident when the CQC go back in they will see a marked improvement.”

The quality of care was praised by inspectors and rated good.

At the last inspection the CQC identified concerns in relation to the premises and found improvements had been made and the premises were well maintained.

“An independent assessor was brought in and said he had never seen such a high level of psychological care from the staff.

“They are all very hands on and engage with the residents,” added Bev Maybury.

More work is being carried out on care home provisions across the borough to raise standards.

“The last thing we want to do is close a care home - it is someone’s home at the end of the day.

“We are all trying to work together to get to the same place,” she said.